Aṭ-Ṭabarī on Āl ʿImrān 3:134 — Tafsīr & Insights

Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān (Ibn Jarīr aṭ-Ṭabarī, d. 310 AH)

﴿ٱلَّذِینَ یُنفِقُونَ فِی ٱلسَّرَّاۤءِ وَٱلضَّرَّاۤءِ وَٱلۡكَـٰظِمِینَ ٱلۡغَیۡظَ وَٱلۡعَافِینَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِۗ وَٱللَّهُ یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِینَ﴾ ﴿آل عمران ١٣٤﴾

“Those who spend in ease and in adversity, who restrain anger, and who pardon people — and Allah loves the doers of good.”

Aṭ-Ṭabarī’s method is on full display: a crisp paraphrase of each clause, the lugha behind each key word, then a file of transmitted reports (āthār) — Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Isḥāq, Qatāda, al-Ḥasan, Abū Hurayra — closing with Ibn ʿAbbās’s cross-references that locate the verse within the wider Qurʾān.

The Arabic, Arranged with Translation

1. ﴿ٱلَّذِینَ یُنفِقُونَ فِی ٱلسَّرَّاۤءِ وَٱلضَّرَّاۤءِ﴾ — the spenders, and the two channels of infāq

قال أبو جعفر: يعني جلَّ ثناؤه: أُعِدَّت الجنةُ التي عَرضُها السمواتُ والأرضُ للمتقين، وهم المنفقون أموالَهم في سبيل الله: إمَّا في صَرفِه على محتاجٍ، وإمَّا في تقويةِ مُضْعِفٍ على النهوضِ لجهادِه في سبيل الله.

“Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted, means — the Garden whose breadth is the heavens and the earth has been prepared for the God-conscious (al-muttaqīn); and they are those who spend their wealth in the path of Allah: either in disbursing it upon a needy person (muḥtāj), or in strengthening one who is weakened (muḍʿif) to rise for his jihad in the path of Allah.” (Editor’s note: al-muḍʿif = one whose riding-beast (dābba) has grown weak.)

﴿في السرّاءِ﴾: في حالِ السرورِ، بكثرةِ المالِ ورخاءِ العيشِ. «والسرّاءُ» مصدرٌ من قولهم «سرَّني هذا الأمرُ مَسرّةً وسروراً». «والضرّاءُ» مصدرٌ من قولهم «قد ضُرَّ فلانٌ فهو يُضَرُّ» إذا أصابه الضُّرُّ، وذلك إذا أصابه الضِّيقُ والجَهْدُ في عَيشِه.

“﴿fī-s-sarrāʾ﴾: in the state of joy (surūr), through abundance of wealth and ease of living. as-sarrāʾ is a verbal noun (maṣdar) from ‘this matter delighted me (sarranī), a delighting and a joy.’ aḍ-ḍarrāʾ is a maṣdar from ‘so-and-so was harmed (ḍurra), so he is harmed’ — when ḍurr (adversity) befalls him, i.e. when narrowness (ḍīq) and hardship (jahd) befall his living.”

٧٨٣٨ — … عن ابن عباسٍ: ﴿الذين يُنفقون في السرّاءِ والضرّاءِ﴾، يقول: في العُسرِ واليُسرِ.

“7838 — [chain → ] from Ibn ʿAbbās: ﴿those who spend in sarrāʾ and ḍarrāʾ﴾ — he says: in hardship (ʿusr) and ease (yusr).”

فأخبر جلَّ ثناؤه أنَّ الجنةَ… لمن اتقاه وأنفق مالَه في حالِ الرخاءِ والسَّعةِ، وفي حالِ الضِّيقِ والشدّةِ، في سبيلِه.

“So He informed that the Garden… is for whoever feared Him and spent his wealth in the state of comfort and amplitude, and in the state of narrowness and hardship, in His path.”

2. ﴿وَٱلۡكَـٰظِمِینَ ٱلۡغَیۡظَ﴾ — the gulpers-down of anger

يعني: والجارِعِينَ الغيظَ عند امتلاءِ نفوسِهم منه. يقال منه: «كظَم فلانٌ غيظَه» إذا تجرَّعه، فحفِظ نفسَه من أن تُمضيَ ما هي قادرةٌ على إمضائِه، باستمكانِها ممّن غاظَها، وانتصارِها ممّن ظلَمَها.

“It means: those who gulp down (al-jāriʿīn) the anger when their souls are filled with it. One says: ‘so-and-so suppressed (kaẓama) his anger’ when he gulps it down — guarding his soul from carrying out what it is able to carry out, given its power over the one who angered it and its capacity to take revenge on the one who wronged it.”

وأصلُ ذلك من «كظمِ القِربةِ»: «كظمتُ القِربةَ» إذا ملأتَها ماءً. و«فلانٌ كظيمٌ ومكظومٌ» إذا كان ممتلئاً غمّاً وحزناً. ومنه ﴿وَابْيَضَّتْ عَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْحُزْنِ فَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ﴾ [يوسف ٨٤] يعني: ممتلئٌ من الحزنِ. ومنه قيل لمجاري المياهِ «الكظائمُ» لامتلائها بالماءِ. ومنه «أخذتُ بكَظَمِه» يعني: بمجاري نفَسِه.

“Its origin is from ‘sealing the waterskin’ (kaẓm al-qirba): ‘kaẓamtu-l-qirba’ = I filled it with water. ‘So-and-so is kaẓīm and makẓūm’ = filled with grief and sorrow — as in ﴿his eyes whitened from grief, for he was kaẓīm﴾ [Yūsuf 84], i.e. filled with grief. From it the water-channels are called al-kaẓāʾim, for their being filled with water. From it: ‘I seized him by his kaẓam’ — i.e. by the passages of his breath (majārī nafasihi).”

و«الغيظُ» مصدرٌ من «غاظَني فلانٌ فهو يَغِيظُني غيظاً» وذلك إذا أحفظَه وأغضبَه.

“al-ghayẓ is a maṣdar from ‘so-and-so enraged me (ghāẓanī), so he enrages me, an enraging’ — that is, when he provokes and angers him.”

3. ﴿وَٱلۡعَافِینَ عَنِ ٱلنَّاسِ﴾ — those who pardon people

يعني: والصافِحِينَ عن الناسِ عقوبةَ ذنوبِهم إليهم، وهم على الانتقامِ منهم قادرونَ، فتارِكوها لهم.

“It means: those who overlook (aṣ-ṣāfiḥīn) for people the punishment of their offenses against them — while they are able to retaliate against them — so they leave it [the punishment] for them.”

4. ﴿وَٱللَّهُ یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِینَ﴾ — and Allah loves the doers of good

يعني: فإنَّ اللهَ يحبُّ من عمِل بهذه الأمورِ التي وصَف أنه أعدَّ للعاملينَ بها الجنةَ… والعاملونَ بها هم «المحسنونَ»، وإحسانُهم هو عملُهم بها.

“It means: Allah loves whoever acts by these matters by which He described that He prepared the Garden for those who act by them… and those who act by them are the muḥsinūn, and their iḥsān is their acting by them.“

٧٨٣٩ — … عن ابن إسحاق: ﴿والعافين عن الناس واللهُ يحبُّ المحسنين﴾، أي: وذلك الإحسانُ، وأنا أُحبُّ من عمِل به.

“7839 — [chain →] from Ibn Isḥāq: ﴿…and Allah loves the muḥsinīn﴾ — i.e.: ‘and that is the iḥsān, and I [Allah] love whoever acts by it.'”

5. The supporting reports (āthār)

7840 — Qatāda:

قومٌ أنفقوا في العُسرِ واليُسرِ، والجَهدِ والرخاءِ. فمن استطاع أن يَغلِبَ الشرَّ بالخيرِ فليفعلْ، ولا قوّةَ إلا بالله. فنِعْمَتْ — واللهِ — يا ابنَ آدمَ، الجَرعةُ تَجترِعُها من صبرٍ وأنت مُغِيظٌ، وأنت مظلومٌ.

“A people who spent in hardship and ease, in strain and comfort. Whoever can overcome evil with good, let him do so — and there is no power except by Allah. How excellent, by Allah, O son of Ādam, is the draught of patience (ṣabr) you gulp down while you are enraged, while you are wronged!”

7841 — al-Ḥasan [al-Baṣrī]:

يقال يومَ القيامةِ: ليَقُمْ من كان له على اللهِ أجرٌ. فما يقومُ إلا إنسانٌ عفا. ثم قرأ هذه الآيةَ: ﴿والعافين عن الناس واللهُ يحبُّ المحسنين﴾.

“On the Day of Resurrection it will be said: ‘Let whoever has a reward due upon Allah rise.’ None rises except a person who pardoned. Then he recited this verse.”

7842 — Abū Hurayra (on ﴿al-kāẓimīna-l-ghayẓ﴾):

قال النبيُّ ﷺ: «من كظَم غيظاً وهو يَقدِرُ على إنفاذِه، ملأه اللهُ أمناً وإيماناً».

“The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Whoever suppresses anger while able to carry it out, Allah fills him with security and faith (amnan wa-īmānan).'”

Muḥaqqiq’s note: this isnād is weak (ḍaʿīf), owing to two unknown narrators (ʿAbd al-Jalīl of Shām and his uncle); al-Bukhārī said of it “lā yutābaʿ ʿalayhi” (uncorroborated). But a report of like meaning is ṣaḥīḥ — Aḥmad (Musnad 6114) from Ibn ʿUmar: the Messenger ﷺ said, “No servant gulps a draught more excellent before Allah than a draught of anger he suppresses, seeking the Face of Allah (ibtighāʾa wajhi-llāh).”

7843 — Ibn ʿAbbās (the two cross-references):

«الكاظمين الغيظ» كقوله ﴿وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُمْ يَغْفِرُونَ﴾ [الشورى ٣٧] — يَغضبون في الأمرِ لو وقَعوا به كان حراماً، فيغفرون ويعفون، يلتمسون بذلك وجهَ اللهِ. و«العافين عن الناس» كقوله ﴿وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُولُو الْفَضْلِ مِنْكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ﴾ … ﴿أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ﴾ [النور ٢٢] — يقول: لا تُقسِموا على أن لا تُعطوهم من النفقةِ شيئاً، واعفوا واصفحوا.

“‘al-kāẓimīna-l-ghayẓ’ is like His word ﴿and when they are angry, they forgive﴾ [Shūrā 37] — they grow angry over a matter which, had they acted on it, would have been forbidden (ḥarām); so they forgive and pardon, seeking thereby the Face of Allah. ‘al-ʿāfīna ʿan an-nās’ is like His word ﴿let not the people of virtue and amplitude among you swear off…﴾ … ﴿do you not love that Allah should forgive you?﴾ [Nūr 22] — He says: do not swear that you will give them nothing of the spending; rather pardon and overlook.”

Insights & Lessons

KEY LESSON — infāq runs in two channels. Aṭ-Ṭabarī’s opening already widens “spending in the path of Allah” to both direct relief of the needy and equipping the muḍʿif — the man whose mount has failed — to march to jihad. Generosity is not only almsgiving to the poor; it is also enabling another’s act of obedience. To fund someone else’s striving is itself spending fī sabīli-llāh.

KEY LESSON — sarrāʾ/ḍarrāʾ as a maṣdar pair. By rooting each word in its verb (sarranī… surūran / ḍurra… yuḍarr), he fixes the two states as joy through wealth and ease versus the narrowness and strain of adversity. Ibn ʿAbbās’s gloss — ʿusr wa-yusr — seals it: the praised believer’s hand opens in both, so giving is a constant, not a fair-weather act.

KEY LESSON — kaẓm is a swallowing, not a silencing. His chosen word is al-jāriʿīn — those who gulp it down. The image is bodily and active: the soul, full of anger and able to strike (qādira ʿalā imḍāʾihi), forces the rage back down its own throat. The whole virtue lives in the qualifier — while able to retaliate. Suppression from weakness is no virtue; kaẓm is restraint exercised from a position of power.

KEY LESSON — the qirba and the kaẓāʾim: a sealed, brimming vessel. Aṭ-Ṭabarī traces kaẓm to kaẓamtu-l-qirba (I filled the skin) and the kaẓāʾim (water-channels “filled with water”), and to kaẓīm/makẓūm — brimful of grief (Yūsuf 84) — and akhadhtu bi-kaẓamihi (his very windpipe). The unifying picture: the kāẓim is a vessel filled to the seal and held shut, his breath-passages gripped. Anger contained, like Yaʿqūb’s grief contained, is fullness mastered, not emptiness.

KEY LESSON — iḥsān is defined by action. His tightest line — “their iḥsān is their acting by them” — and Ibn Isḥāq’s first-person gloss (“that is the iḥsān, and I love whoever acts by it”) refuse to let iḥsān float as sentiment. To be a muḥsin is simply to do these three things: spend, suppress, pardon. The love of Allah attaches to the deed.

KEY LESSON — pardon is the deed that stands on the Day. Al-Ḥasan’s report is startling in its economy: when reward-holders are called to rise, none stands but the one who pardoned. Of all righteous acts, ʿafw is singled out as the one with a claim upon Allah — because, as Qatāda frames it, the swallowed draught of ṣabr “while enraged and wronged” is the costliest and most excellent thing a servant drinks.

KEY LESSON — the ṣaḥīḥ anchor for a ḍaʿīf chain. A point your isnād work will value: aṭ-Ṭabarī carries the Abū Hurayra wording (“Allah fills him with security and faith”) on a weak chain (two majhūl links; Bukhārī: lā yutābaʿ ʿalayhi), but the meaning is secured by the ṣaḥīḥ Ibn ʿUmar hadith in Aḥmad — the jurʿat ghayẓ suppressed ibtighāʾa wajhi-llāh. The lesson of method: a weak transmission of a sound meaning is corroborated, not discarded, when an authentic shāhid exists.

KEY LESSON — Ibn ʿAbbās maps the verse onto the whole Qurʾān. His two cross-references are the gem of the page. (1) al-kāẓimīn ↔ ﴿wa-idhā mā ghaḍibū hum yaghfirūn﴾ [Shūrā 37]: their restraint is not numbness — they do grow angry, but at what it would be ḥarām to avenge, so they forgive for Allah’s Face. (2) al-ʿāfīna ʿan an-nās ↔ ﴿wa-lā yaʾtali ulū-l-faḍl﴾ [Nūr 22]: the verse revealed when Abū Bakr swore to cut off support to a relative who had wronged him — answered by “do you not love that Allah forgive you?” The link teaches that the highest pardon is to forgive a wrong and resume your generosity toward the very one who wronged you.

What Makes Aṭ-Ṭabarī’s Treatment Distinctive

• Riwāya-driven (tafsīr bi-l-maʾthūr). The verse is established through a chain-by-chain file of Companion and Successor reports (7838–7843), not through the mufassir’s reasoning alone.
• Crisp clausal paraphrase + lugha. Each phrase gets a one-line synonym (jāriʿīn, ṣāfiḥīn) followed by its derivational root, in his economical style.
• The kaẓm = filling/sealing etymology built from qirba, kaẓāʾim, kaẓīm/makẓūm, and kaẓam (windpipe) — a tight, water-vessel image.
• Qurʾān-by-Qurʾān coherence. Ibn ʿAbbās’s Shūrā 37 and Nūr 22 links situate 3:134 within the scriptural network — the hallmark of al-Qurʾān yufassiru baʿḍuhu baʿḍan.
• Definition of iḥsān as enacted obedience, reinforced by Ibn Isḥāq’s divine first-person gloss.

Master Lesson

• Spend in both states, and in both ways: in ease and in adversity; on the needy directly, and by equipping another’s striving in Allah’s path.
• Gulp the anger down while able to strike: kaẓm is a full vessel sealed shut, restraint from power — not silence from weakness.
• Pardon while able to retaliate: the ʿāfī waives a punishment he could enforce; on the Day, the pardoner is the one who rises with a reward due upon Allah.
• iḥsān is action: to spend, suppress, and pardon is the iḥsān Allah loves — and its summit is to forgive a wrongdoer and keep giving to him (Nūr 22).
• Soundness of meaning over weakness of chain: the suppressed draught for the Face of Allah is established by the ṣaḥīḥ report even where one chain is weak.